Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) Championship side Nondescripts’ performance at Tisap Sevens in Eldoret to break KCB and Kabras Sugar dominance in SportPesa National Sevens Circuit yesterday is commendable and inspiring.
Kabras Sugar and KCB had shared the spoils in the previous four legs, with the sugar men winning the Driftwood in Mombasa and Prinsloo in Nakuru while the bankers Dala in Kisumu and Christie in Nairobi.
Nondies might have stunned Strathmore Leos 12-7 to lift Tisap Sevens, the fifth leg of the circuit, but taking the tournament to the hotbed of athletics was a good move by KRU in trying to spread rugby across the country.
It was also great to see upsets being caused in Eldoret, with Mwamba rising to shock Kabras Sugar in the quarterfinals, Kisumu beating Kenya Harlequin 12-5 in the preliminaries and the University of Eldoret forcing a 19-19 draw against Mwamba, also in the preliminaries.
The rise of University of Eldoret, Sigalagala, Mombasa and Kabarak University from Division Two to compete in the circuit is a clear manifestation of how the game has spread.
Hosting the circuit in Eldoret and Kisumu, for instance, have shown that the game is popular outside Nairobi, with Menengai Oilers, Kabras Sugar and Nakuru having changed the equation in recent years.
A strong sevens circuit will help revamp our Kenya Sevens team that is now fighting to reclaim its core team status in the World Rugby Sevens Series.
Unlike before, the Kenya Sevens technical bench headed by Kevin Wambua has had time to go across the country to monitor performance of players in the sevens circuit before naming the team.
We hope the team will be able to clear its first hurdle — the African Qualification Tournament for 2024 Paris Olympic Games scheduled for September 16 to 17 in Harare — before shifting focus elsewhere.
